John Howard and Peter Costello unleash on current crop of leaders on both sides of the political divide as Australia struggles through cost of living crisis

Former political heavyweights John Howard and Peter Costello have condemned the Albanian government’s financial mismanagement as the country struggles through an ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

Speaking about the release of their government’s 2004 cabinet papers, the former prime minister and federal treasurer gave the country’s current leaders – on both sides of the aisle – a dismal report card when it came to their handling of the national purse.

Former Prime Minister John Howard expressed concern about the deteriorating budget situation, saying the budget had gotten “out of control.”

He warned that while there may not be a major risk to Australian credit, investors would be increasingly wary.

“There may not be an immediate risk to your credit rating, but eventually there will be,” Mr Howard told the Australian newspaper.

Mr Howard noted that the current government accepts a long-term debt future, unlike previous Labor governments that prioritized a balanced budget.

Peter Costello, a former treasurer in the Howard government, criticized the current Treasury for failing to focus on taxpayers.

“You can no longer rely on the Treasury Department to defend taxpayers,” Costello said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese came under harsh criticism

“They have bought into this big government and big spending. So even the Treasury Department as an institution has, I think, been humiliated by this process.”

Mr Howard criticized the economic policies of Mr Albanese and Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

‘The current government has made a terrible economic and also political mistake by delivering a few surpluses and then not saying: ‘We are going to do everything we can to keep it that way, because we cannot afford it at the moment (not to do). difficult time for our economy,” Mr Howard said.

“Maybe the government thinks the public doesn’t care. I think they’re wrong.’

Mr Costello agreed, blaming both sides for the dire state of Australia’s balance sheet.

He said the budget should have returned to surplus after required stimulus spending during the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020-2021 pandemic.

“What’s happening in Australia is that per capita tax is rising and per capita expenditure is rising even faster,” Costello said.

‘We are moving towards a country with higher taxes, higher expenditure and higher debt, and at the same time we are becoming a less productive country.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been urged to boost the country’s productivity

‘If you ever want to restore productivity, you have to address the growing tax burden and the growing expenditure burden. There are many things that have contributed to declining productivity in Australia, but that’s a big one.”

Mr Costello said while other countries had already cut interest rates, Australia had yet to follow suit.

He attributed this slowdown to a government characterized by high spending and taxes, which pushed the budget back into deficit.

“The rest of the world is in an easing cycle: the British, the Europeans, the Americans, the New Zealanders,” he said.

“Australia has not yet seen any relaxation.”

Costello blamed government spending.

‘There is no doubt that government spending has kept interest rates high in Australia for longer. “If they had tightened spending in the last budget, or the budget before that, we would be in a easing cycle now,” he said.

Mr Howard and Mr Costello also raised concerns about incoming US President Donald Trump’s controversial tariff plans.

“I’m very concerned, to say the least, concerned about Trump’s statements on tariffs,” Howard said.

‘Trade has freed millions of people from poverty. Unilaterally imposing tariffs of that order of magnitude on countries is simply bad for global trade and for the global economy.’

Mr Costello said he was not in favor of tariffs and that they would not be good for Australia.

“It is certainly not in my opinion the spirit, if not the letter, of the free trade agreement, and we must do everything we can to convince the Americans of that,” he said.